THIS IS A FIRE DOOR NEVER LEAVE OPEN
by bwilbur
Summary: While Cid and Squall have a 'man-to-man' bonding trip, Yuffie decides to come along and force her immaturity onto the two. Will her lighthearted personality grow onto them, or will someone else's immaturity grow onto them even more? 1-sided Squffie hints
1. Illustrated Bible stories for Children

THIS IS A FIRE DOOR NEVER LEAVE OPEN**  
prologue: Illustrated Bible Stories for Children**

-

As far as I remember, the skies of Traverse have _always_ been plagued by the dull hues of Darkness. Of course, not any normal darkness – not darkness that is greeted by daylight on a comfortable, timely basis – it's darkness that is so procrustean that it often and easily exposes and displays fear in ones that bask and/or live in it. Darkness that is so forbidding that armies upon armies of leeching Heartless find hospitality and comfort in it – wallowing and wading in a ideal blend of insecurities and emptiness.

And they love it. They _adore_ it. And they love every ounce of energy they absorb from the very core of a being _even more_. Thus, the heartier the heart, the better. Although the nature of the Heartless make them scour for the more wholesome of hearts to host upon, Traverse is full of people with _nothing_. No desire, no hope, no future, which is a problem – although not too big - for them. So, in Traverse, as the number of Heartless increases and the numbers of those with actual hearts diminish, there's only one essential goal for the Heartless in Traverse – to survive.

It's not a very challenging goal, seeing that it's effortless for such creatures to thrive in such a forsaken place. Like stated before, the darkness here isn't anything normal. The darkness in this town is not the same darkness that haunts kids to sleep - it does so much more. Among other things, it reminds us that we arenobodies – just merely fodder for these sinister creatures.

And that, of course, is far, far worse.

Other than hosting copious amounts of 'fodder' for the Heartless, Traverse is a permanent sanctuary for people that had been forced into wanderlust. None of our pasts had ever been written in such a place such as Traverse, but at the very moment we enter this town, our present, which slowly turns into our future, permanently gets engraved onto a mental epitaph. A mental epitaph that, in the back of our minds, tells us that we're all the same. Thus, personalities in this town don't really clash and there's none of that lovable soap opera drama around these parts. Annual events and celebrations get blurred into others of previous years, making memories impossible. Even milestones like weddings and funerals pass by without the depth of actual human emotion. Children grow faster in this town, never knowing humor or innocence.

And it's all because of the Darkness. It's the Darkness' fault.

Nomads that have made their home here know, from prior experiences in other worlds, that the sun is _the _essence of spirit. It is the center of the so-called circle of life. It is the root of the food cycles and food webs that we were taught about in grade school. It emoted the worlds, and made it somewhat of a brighter place.

The sun was definitely something that everyone and anyone could connect to in an infinite amount of aspects. The sun is our one common denominator amidst the streaming pool of emotions, diversity, and life.

But here, in Traverse... _where is it_?

"Over there!" Yuffie squeaked, pointing toward a corner of the 2nd district where the Dalmatians (of all things) lived. I rubbed my eyes and lazily looked toward where Yuffie pointed. Nothing. _Not that I was expecting anything_, I thought bitterly to myself. I was clearly growing wearier.

"Yuffie, yew jackass, stop it. We're all goddamn tired an' we're tired of yer bitchin'," Cid snapped, apparently as weary as I was. Yuffie turned to him and glowered at him, while he merely yawned. "Argh, why the hell did I even believe this bullshit?"

Me, Yuffie, and Cid were atop of the abandoned gizmo shop in the second district. Why? I have no idea. Aerith had apparently told Yuffie that the sun was going to rise, and Yuffie, taking anything she heard as a cold, hard fact, got into hissy-fit and _somehow_ convinced Cid and I to come out and watch the sunrise with her. How? I really don't know... though Yuffie _did_ keep repeating her favorite adjective – romantic – in her demands to a point where we were actually convinced that anything Yuffie deemed romantic was, indeed, romantic. I know - I wonder what I was smoking... let alone why I wanted to actually see something 'romantic.'

Regardless, here we were. Yuffie insisted that we would wait during the early night for the sun to come up because it was supposed to be 'a gradual process that can be duly captured if only you see it out through the whole cycle.' Never having the patience as a blasé teenager to actually watch a sunrise, I accepted her claim. Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, I missed the sun. And, whether or not I thought the sun would actually come up today, I wanted to see it. It's hard to imagine a Traverse that's actually lit by something other than streetlights. The mere presence of the sun I was accustomed to and often ignored in my own world seems so foreign now – I _wanted_ the same feeling in such a place. God knows why Cid stuck around, but he was still there. As well as several freshly burned out cigarettes littering the rooftop of the building. I've always suspected that his 'badass' attitude was merely a masquerade for gentle-hearted yearning. And, as of a few hours ago, I had proof. The proof wasn't marked by headstrong credibility, but _I_ thought it was convincing.

Yuffie looked over to Cid, and glared at the cigarette in his hand. Ignoring his last comment, she put a nasty frown onto her face, and pointed at the burning object. "Cid, how many packs of cigarettes did you smoke today?"

"..." Cid put the cigarette in his mouth. A stream of smoke wafted from his nostrils as he lightly exhaled before he answered. "A lot more than I'd usually smoke, mind yew. I was on a smokin'-diet before this. Ye know how I'd always chew on that muthafucken twig all the time?"

"Smoking's bad for you!" Yuffie said, forcing faux-concern into her voice. "Second hand smoke is also very deadly!" she added as an afterthought.

"Thanks fer the public service announcement, Einstein. Leonhart's already stoned from it – look at that glazed look on his face," Cid bit onto the cigarette to keep it in his mouth as he flashed an openmouthed grin at me. His teeth were, surprisingly, white. I stared. "Ye see? Didn't even get a reaction from deh bastard."

"I..." I began. "Well, your arguments are always interesting," I said, mostly to myself, nodding slowly. Cid chuckled harshly.

"Suuuuuuuuuue... Don't keep yer eyes on my sexeh visage – ye need to keep yer eyes peeled at the sunrise, remember?" Cid, who was faced toward my figure leaning against the wall, turned slightly toward Yuffie, giving her an obvious glare. She didn't notice.

To somewhat of my surprise, instead of looking at the sky, Yuffie's head was leaned down, toward the ground, as she watched herself dwindle her thumbs. Cid started laughing. Yuffie immediately looked up to him.

"What's so funny?" she asked innocently. A mischievous glint surfaced briefly in Cid's eyes.

"Leonhart confessed his passionate love t'wards yew," Cid said in a soft voice.

"_Cid_." I said, giving him a sharp glance. Cid winked at me, quickly enough for Yuffie not to notice. I rolled my eyes.

"Really?" Yuffie said, her wily eyes wide with anticipation. The both of us stared at her for a good ten seconds before Cid burst into loud laughter. Yuffie immediately grimaced at Cid - who was on his knees, holding his stomach - and kicked at his hip, _hard_. "That was _totally not _funny!" she growled. "Start being serious!!! We're supposed to look for the sun!!!!! CID!"

"Face it, Yuf. Good ole Aerith was lyin' to yew. The sun ain't gonna come anywhere. Aerith wanted te use yer innocence to an advantage this time. Things sure get goddamn dull 'round here, y'know?"

Yuffie opened her mouth in protest, but no words came out. Suddenly: "Then why are _you_ here?" she said in a bitter, almost caustic voice. Cid cringed as Yuffie's words slowly processed through his mind. I craned my head forward, to Cid's direction, as I waited for his response.

"... Dunno," he answered, and took a large puff into his cigarette. "... I like the sun," he said after awhile in a very un-Cid-esque voice. Ah... my suspicions were right! Grinning, I continued watching him, wanting him to do something more than show interest in his shoes. His head was held down as he resumed smoking. When he looked up from the cigarette, an earnest disposition that was definitely more Cid-like outlined his face. "But seriously, we can easily go te other worlds te see the sun in alls its glory instead of vegetatin' here. Like... Agrabah has tons an' tons of sunshine. And..."

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, CID!" Yuffie roared, interrupting the moment of a genuinely determined Cid and his seemingly deep monologue. "WHY DON'T WE DO THAT??? IT'LL BE SO MUCH FUN! WE CAN TRAVEL ALL THE WORLDS... AND... AND... WE CAN GO ON A ROAD TRIP!! OOO MAYBE AERITH WILL COME WITH US!!"

I stared at Yuffie in disbelief. A 'road trip,' during such dire times where a sudden Heartless strike was inevitable? I continued staring at her. Her mind was so simple – so one-track. Added to that, she didn't even take notice of Cid's unusual behavior, to use the situation as black-mail/general Yuffie-taunting material. Was she kidding? Although I already knew the answer to my question, I shook my head in disbelief. I was about to counter her suggestion, but that was when...

"Sounds like a GRRREAT idea, Yuf!" Cid said, roughly patting Yuffie on the back, with no hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Yer good fer somethin', after all! Hee! ... Just kiddin' 'bout the useless thing..."

Yuffie ignored Cid's apology and turned towards me, her brown eyes dancing anxiously with hope. "You should come with us, Squall!" Yuffie said, grinning from ear to ear. "It'll be fun!"

I was never a person that was adept with rejecting. As a kid and a teenager, I hated the idea of rejection and betrayal, so, as a result, I was reclusive. However, as I grew older and I was forced into social situations, I realized that it wasn't easy for _anyone_ to reject, since feelings on the receiving end would _always _be damaged, all to various degrees. I looked over to Cid. He was smiling ardently, the cigarette burning happily in his mouth. With no sort of real outside consent, I looked Yuffie straight in the eye and nodded.

The hope in her eyes turned into a bright shimmer of pure mirth. Although my relationship with Yuffie wasn't particularly deep, there was a sense of self-satisfaction as I watched her smile.

"...Okaaaay then. I guess we'll talk about this s'more t'morrow, mmkay? I'm hella tired... I'm out!" Cid mumbled, and walked toward the ladder leading to ground level of the second district. As Cid disappeared from behind the Dalmatian's door, Yuffie turned to me and gave me a peculiar look.

"Cid has these weird mood swings, doesn't he?"

"What?" I looked back at Yuffie. So she _did _notice Cid's odd behavior... I was about to ask her how she thought of my 'hiding behind a mean-ass disposition' theory, but I stopped myself at the last second. Talking to Yuffie in an affable manner just seemed... unnatural.

Yuffie, who probably didn't expect (but wanted, or else she wouldn't have bothered.) a proper reply from me, gave me one last look before she jumped from the side of the building all the way down to the ground.

All alone, I sighed to myself and looked up to the eternal night's sky, with no such hint of even faint lighting, save the bright stars. Yuffie was the type of person that liked wishful thinking and, well... liked living life itself. She planned countless aspirations and expected so much out of herself. Of course, hardly anything got off the ground. But she kept on planning, hoping life would make an expected turn for the better out of one of her plans. This trip was just another one of her plans. The trip was just another endeavor at holding onto the excitement of life, excitement that can only be grasped onto during the fleeting years of youth. The trip was another thing that gave her some hope for being someone different – someone who mattered. Maybe if she did break the barrier between Traverse and the rest of the world, it would just work out for her. Darkness did have a certain effect on people... as the sun does. But unlike the darkness, sunlight had a positive influence. Yuffie's vibrancy would mix well with sunlight.

Maybe Yuffie knew about the contrasts between light and darkness. Maybe this plan of hers wasn't like any other of her plans – was it was her plan to breathe life into her other plans, so she can finally advance toward her ultimate goal? Or maybe that was just too much for her to comprehend, and she was just giddy from the thought of doing something new and adding to her bland lifestyle?

Without any definite answer to my own question, I went toward the same ladder Cid climbed down and descended toward the ground. The dim moonlight was shining over my shoulders... substituting something that I wanted more.

-

**ending notes**: I've had an obsession with rewriting stories I've written... because, well, _they sucked_. The concepts behind them were not bad, actually, but shaping up the plot was something I needed to do to 'improve' the stories. At first, the original THIS IS A FIRE DOOR NEVER LEAVE OPEN (which was called Earthshine Babylon) was my one of my favorite fics that I had written.

But then, I actually read through it. ...Hah.

I'm not particularly happy with this chapter (it's certainly better than the last first prologue), but I dunno how to improve it. Since I've been editting this story every night for the past week, I think I should at least take a stab at improving the first chapter. So... criticisms, please? Thanks.

Oh yea, to former readers of Earthshine Babylon: yes, this prologue is different from the other prologue. I found it somewhat, er, _steadfast _in the previous version, so I wanted to fill that gap. I hope that this chapter satisfies you guys better. Thanks for keeping up with my horrible antics!


	2. One Great City!

THIS IS A FIRE DOOR NEVER LEAVE OPEN**  
chapter I: one great city!**

**-**

After pondering on it, I never thought that Yuffie would _really_ carry on with the whole trip thing. She was, what – fifteen, sixteen, seventeen? Although I _may_ be utterly underestimating her capabilities, a large trip to visit other worlds seemed out of reach and would burden her with tons of responsibilities. Even with Cid, Aerith, and my help, it would definitely eat up a good portion of all of our money (**A/N**: I _refuse_ to use the 'word' "munny.") and would put Traverse at a great risk. Without Cid running his shop, Aerith the strategist, and myself ... and Yuffie keeping the Heartless population in reasonable check, who knows what could possibly happen to Traverse?

Don't get me wrong – I liked the idea of a 'road trip' – life in Traverse is unbelievably daunting and boring. Yes, even for someone as dull as I am. To tell you the truth, even with all the risks with us leaving, I would still want to embark on the trip anyway. Hopefully, Yuffie took this seriously and thought of good rebuttals to use against anything that might be of a worry for us if we went on this trip.

Obviously, I didn't keep my hopes up. As I put on my usual attire after a refreshing shower, I decided that I would dedicate the day to coming up with excuses.

-

I was sitting in the picnic area of the first district, waiting for my usual order. Apparently the sun _didn't _come up. I smiled to myself as I idly traced my gloved finger around the edge of the glass of water the waitress had given me. Other than a couple a few tables down, talking in hushed whispers, and myself, the picnic area was empty. The picnic area was eerily glowing by candlelight, dimly lit in small quantities set at each table. The area had a strong smell of burnt wax mixed with the contrasting scent of ketchup.

After taking a small sip from my glass, I casually looked around the first district. A brunette boy in rugged clothing that I knew by sight was huddled next to the mailbox, sleeping. The boy seemed to be shaking in his sleep, and an unpleasant frown was planted onto his face. According to what other Traverse denizens had said in their daily gossip circles, the boy had managed to stumble into Traverse all alone, and refused to take any hospitality or money from any others offering him aid. When approached, it was said that he kept up a jaded and nasty barrier around himself.

Sounds familiar.

Several Moogles were roaming around the first district. They parted the grass, examined the ground, poked their heads into crevices, broke apart crates, and climbed trees. It was common for other animals (and even some people of Traverse) to behave in a scavenging way, but it was definitely out of character for Moogles. The Moogles ran a successful synthesis shop right above Cid's accessory shop, and once even helped patch up my Revolver and provide me with useful accessories. These Moogles were also famous for making pricey jewelry and accessories from stones and shards, which both Aerith and Yuffie were big fans of. What was up with their unusual behavior?

"Sir?"

I turned. The waitress, who looked exhausted and sleep-deprived, set a heavy batch of waffles in front of me, and shakily put a pitcher of syrup, a small plate of fruit, and eating utensils by the edge of the table. She rubbed her hand against her forehead, sighed, and then bustled back into the kitchen determinedly. Even as the kitchen door closed behind her, I continued staring. Sympathy was a necessary emotion for even the most stoic of people, and Traverse was the best place for the particular mood to flourish.

"That looks delicious, Leon."

Somewhat startled, I bolted in my chair, and turned. A set of chartreuse eyes bore into my face. I grinned.

"Aerith," I said as a greeting. She grinned back... and put one of her slender fingers into the syrup pitcher and slightly stirred her hand into the sticky substance. She took her hand out of the syrup, a thick layer of it coating her finger. As she slowly put her finger to her mouth, several globs of the syrup fell from her finger and landed on my pants.

Apathetic at the state of my pants, I continued watching her, for no good reason, except for the sake of mere curiosity. Instead of licking her finger suggestively (as Yuffie, being as predictable as she was, would very well had done), the tip of her tongue only dabbed at her finger. She reached for a waffle from my un-touched plate, smeared the syrup onto the face of the waffle, then took it, and started eating it.

Stifled, yet perfectly audible giggles followed immediately afterwards. Then, as if the connection _then_ became obvious, Yuffie popped out from behind the outer picnic area wall, giving a 'tada' gesture.

"Aeirth! Smoooooooooooth!" Yuffie said as she reached for a particularly big waffle on my plate. "You shoulda seen him stare at you!" Yuffie said in between bites.

"Sorry Leon, but I was hungry," she said as she licked at the pads of her fingers. I continued staring at her, as if I knew there was something physically different about her, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"He's enthralled with your beauty, even when you eat! How romantic! You guys should totally hook up..."

"Yuffie," I said sternly as I gave her a brief glare. "Please."

"Ah, Leon, can't you take a joke?" Aerith said in a motherly tone. I looked back up to her. Sweetly, with the same finger she used for the syrup, she stroked the bottom of my chin. "Sometimes you're so serious that it's cute..."

I looked down at the table. A significant number of my waffles were gone, as well as all of the larger strawberries from my fruit bowl.

_What a weird situation I'm in_, I thought to myself. Trying my best to ignore both Aerith and Yuffie, I picked up a knife and fork from the table, and gingerly cut at the flesh of one of the waffles. "You guys are going to help me pay for this," I muttered.

"Hey! What're yew shitheads doin' o'er here?" Cid's croaking voice called out as he walked toward the three of us. Once he reached our table, he smiled, and patted Yuffie's back roughly. "The Moogles said they'd look over meh shop, bless 'em..."

"Great! You have everything ready, Cid?" Aerith said. It was the early morning. Did Cid and Yuffie confront and convince Aerith by now? With that, did they really 'have everything ready?'

"Yep. We dun have a great pile o' money, so we'll be usin' one of the more decent Gummis the kid made, mmmkay?"

"Oooo... Sora made a Gummi?" Yuffie said. "I wanna see it!"

"Well... we'll go an' go see it right now. Gotcher bags ready?" Cid said, lifting the toothpick he had in his mouth up to the air. "I have mine in my shop..."

"Umm... no... but I can pack in a second! Lemme go to my room now..."

"Wait!" I said, outraged. "Just wait a damn minute! We suggested this trip thing just a few hours ago... and now you're tell me _right now_ we're ready to go?!?"

"What about it, Leonhart?" Cid said.

"What will happen to Traverse without us? Traverse can very well be destroyed by the Heartless without us there, and it would be our fault!" I said, my voice raised loudly. I looked at Aerith. "And you, you actually agreed with this so quickly?"

"Ah, Leonhart, yer such a whiner. Don't worry! The Moogles will contact the kid if Traverse'll get in trouble. It won't, though... trust me! This trip is well-deserved. Since all four of us have been werkin' our asses off for the past couple a' years, we've become paranoid an' worrisome. Relax!" Cid said, in a demanding tone, as if he was demanding me to shut up and come along. Utterly furious, I looked at Aerith again. She just shrugged.

"Squall! You said you'd come with us!" Yuffie said in a repining voice. "You promised!"

"I didn't promise," I spat. "Besides, Sora is just a kid. We are all grown adults that know our responsibilities better than Sora and those silly friends of his combined. And don't call me by that name."

It was silent, and I took my time to look at all three of them. Upon looking at Yuffie, I remembered what I had told myself earlier. _I would dedicate the day to coming up with excuses_. Excuses in favor of the trip. I shook my head. If I considered prior events strange, things were definitely awkward this time around.

"You're right Leon. I guess I put my desires over the interests of Traverse," Aerith said calmly. Yuffie gave her a strange look. "... Why don't the three of you go, and I'll just stay here?" At this point, Yuffie looked at her, wide-mouthed.

"Aerith, no! Squall is just a dunderhead!! Don't listen to him! I want you to come!" Yuffie started whining. "Please come with us!"

"Aerith..." I began. I looked up at her before I spoke again. "I'll stay. You... you seem to like the idea of this trip better than I do."

Yuffie turned toward me, the same livid expression on her face. "You promised! And why do you always jump in to save Aerith from self-sacrificing?" she was screaming at me at this point. "Both of you are coming, although, you know, I'd love to separate you two..."

"M'god, SHUT DEH FUCK UP." Cid butted in. "All of us are coming, a'ight? Jesus Christ! You know what? We wasted valuable arguin' about... arguin' about NOTHIN'!"

"I have to stay," Aerith whispered, almost as if she didn't want us to hear her.

"Yew do that," Cid said caustically. "Now, Yuffie, Leonhart... get ready. Stay tucked."

"Aerith's coming!" Yuffie latched onto Aerith's arm. "Let's go, NOW!" she said with persistence. "NOW!"

"... Hey, I haven't packed yet..." I said.

"Whatever! Share things with Aerith, I know you'd love to!" Cid said, and then burst into oily laughter. Yuffie gave him a peculiar look.

-

**ending notes**: Yuffie's immaturity was forced. I know her crush is painfully obvious, like Eiko's towards Zidane, and even perhaps Quistis to Squall. I love toying around with any character's flaws and faults.

Squall won't be that dense, don't worry. However, you still don't know what the pairing(s) will be. Stay tuned.

_A slight addition to this chapter's ending notes_: if you read my profile as of 8.14.04, you can see that my interests have slowly backed away from fanfiction. I will no longer read any stories on a daily basis, only by recommendations or favorite stories lists. This will probably stunt my writing's growth as the only thing I read now are opinions (although, actually, most fics I read are a cut below my writing abilities, not to sound cocky.), but I will not stop writing. It's obvious that writing fanfiction won't be a big hobby of mine, but I'll still do it. I usually write fanfiction when I can't sleep... so, yes.

I have, however, finally gotten FFVII! Wow, it's freaky... I portrayed Aerith exactly the way as she appears in the game! Rinoa-esque, except in a better (?!) way. I haven't met Cid yet, but Barret acts freakishly like Cid does in my story. Right down to the lisp, and everything... yeah, wow. I haven't met Yuffie either, but judging by what the folks at Square wrote about her, I wrote her character well. She probably isn't as stupid as I make her appear, though. Damn!

I'll stop babbling and actually write something you'd want to read – I finished this chapter a while ago. I just need to rewrite the third chapter and write a fourth one, and I can show off the new and improved version of Earthshine to my few readers... baaarrgh.


	3. hospital vespers

THIS IS A FIRE DOOR NEVER LEAVE OPEN**  
chapter II: (hospital vespers)**

**-**

The Gummi Ship we were traveling in was amazing. It was like one big room divided into two halves – the front side of the ship was dedicated to maneuvering the ship and the like (Cid forbade us to enter this portion of the ship, which was separated by a small set of stairs and railings. The ship's front is entirely windows to the outside, whereas to two walls opposite of each other were covered by machinery and computer screens. As far as I could tell, the floor was covered with an unnatural plastic floor cushioning and tables set with hundreds of controls.), and the back side was for everything else. Although the two rooms were probably the same length, the backside seemed smaller than the front, probably because everything was more cluttered at the back. _Two_ beds were set in the left corner, the longer sides of them against the wall. A large bookshelf full of tiny paperbacks was against the same wall, and bookshelves of hard covers and CDs were against the adjacent wall. Other than the only visible entrance and exit of the Gummi ship, the remaining wall had a washing machine, a refrigerator, and a stove against it. A wooden table with four chairs stacked near it covered the center area. Other than that table, which was brown, _everything_ was blue. Light blue, dark blue, blue-green, green-blue, navy... every shade of blue imaginable.

I, however, wasn't thinking of any of this, because other than the clothes I had on my back and a couple of gil notes in my pocket, I had nothing for the trip.

"This is soooooooo cool..." Yuffie said, awed. "Sora made it?" she asked as she prodded the ground.

"That's right. Not bad for a little boy who's just hit puberty, eh?" Cid said from the controls. "Look at all of those pretty tints he used!"

"Cid... Sora's intelligent. Don't judge people by age," Aerith said softly as she took a seat at the table.

"Meh. I'll do whatever I want, thank you very much," Cid said. He turned toward the controls.

"... Um, how long is this trip supposed to be?" I asked. No one bothered to make immediate eye contact with me. I rolled my eyes.

Yuffie, who was sitting at the table, looked up, her eyes wide in eagerness. "... I KNOW!!! What about this roadtrip last forever and ever?!? Oooooh!! Ohmygawd... ohmygawdOHMYGAWDDD!"

Both Cid and Aerith looked up from what they were doing and turned to Yuffie. Yuffie stared right back at them as her grin widened.

"Yuffie..." Aerith said slowly as she reached for a styrafoam cup that was neatly placed on the table.

"Yes?"

"How old are you again, stupidhead? You have no such sense of responsibility!" Cid butted in. Aerith, who's mouth was slightly agape, quickly closed it and thinly smiled, as if Cid's comment satisfied her need to say anything. Yuffie just stood there, staring at Cid with a dull look on her face.

"Pfeh!" I snorted, my brow furrowed in annoyance. "Hypocrites," I said in a lower voice.

Cid shook his head before he faced me. "Excuse me?" he said. After looking directly at him and rolling my eyes, Cid roughly slammed his wrist onto a tabletop in the control room, and uglily grimaced at me. "I'm sorry if I confused you, but I'm not a stupid tween that likes to go on ego trips that last a lifetime of disappointment. I know I have my responsibilities, but I also have my sanity and my attention span. It's not just all work or all play. YOU, Leonhart... you just see the world in fuckin' black and white all the time. That's your own problem though."

I was too focused on Cid's philosophies to bother to come up with any sort of a rebuttal – not even a plain 'shut up' or 'fuck you.' I only got back to my senses when I heard Yuffie chuckling in the background.

"Yoooooou got owned!" she said loudly. I rolled my bottom lip over my teeth to hide a smile.

"Cut yer hair too, you jackass," Cid spat at me. Dead silence. He turned back to the controls. "... Whew, that felt good. I'm all done. Don't beat me up, Leonhart – I wouldn't like it. Men going through their midlife crisis are allowed to have their moodswings. ... Yep... yep..." Cid set a duffle bag full of his belongings onto one of the countertops and shuffled his hand through it as he used the other to start up the engine. "... Damn, I forgot my toothbrush."

-

Hours lingered slowly in the ship. Cid's small tirade seemed to have cast a spell over everyone in the ship – no one seemed to dare to talk to anyone else, even something as much as exchanging silent glances was a rare occurrence. Cid was humming loudly as he steered the ship, with one of his arms holding onto the back of his seat. Aerith was sitting in a corner, hiding behind the paperback bookshelf as she furiously wrote in a notebook she had brought along. Yuffie was on one of the beds and doing repeated sit ups mechanically. I was sitting at the table, and playing with a small handful of tea leaves from a bag that Aerith had put on the table. The situation was in no way awkward, but it annoyed me nonetheless. I wanted to say something, but I was afraid that my timing would be bad. Or something. ...

"Hey," I said. It was directed to Cid, but the two girls almost immediately stopped doing what they were doing and turned to me. "... Cid?"

"Whaddya want kiddo?" Cid kept steering, his arm still in that annoying position. If everything was muted, you wouldn't be able to tell that Cid was speaking.

"Where are we going?"

"Yea!" Yuffie chirped. "I don't wanna go to some creepy place or something."

"Silly, we're gunna see sunlight. Remember?"

"Oh yea," Yuffie said. "........................ Does it really take this long?"

"Yeh," Cid said.

"Ahhhhhhhh... I seee..." Yuffie said, nodding her head to the rhythm of the syllables that she spoke. Cid started humming again.

"Hey, Cid..." this time it was Aerith speaking.

"Geez. What d'ye want now?"

"There are only two beds."

"I know. Your point?"

"Well... there are four people, so there aren't enough beds for us," Aerith said in a painfully slow voice, as if she was trying to explain something for the fifth time to a four year old.  
  
"What are you talking about? You, Leonhart, and Yuffie'll share a bed. And I'll sleep in the other one. Before we sleep, I'll be sure to move my bed away from you just in case you want yer privacy and if you guys disturb my beauty sleep by make funny noises. Okay?"

"Ewww! That's disgusting! You're a pervert, Cid!"

Cid started humming again.

"What about I sleep on the floor and you guys could decide who gets he beds?" I offered. "Besides... this floor looks awfully comfortable." I smiled idiotically as I reached towards the ground and pushed my hands against the cushions.

"Yea, and just in case you get cold, Yuffie will be more than happy to snuggle with you. ... Actually, I think it might get a bit steamy, I—"

"Oh my god! I'm not like that, Cid! And besides... Squall doesn't like me! It's totally obvious he likes Aerith," Yuffie stated in a very bitter tone.

"... Whatever."

"Yea... whatever!" Cid pressed a large button on the control panel that was labeled 'cruise control' and turned to look directly at Yuffie. "And the name is Leon, not Squall. Get it right, lowbrow."

A nasty exchange of glares took place after that comment.

"Weren't you saying something about not being a 'stupid tween,' Cid?" Aerith asked, apparently wary of the level of immaturity displayed by the three of us.

"Yea, that's what I said," Cid assured with a nod. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"... Nevermind." She said, sighing. "So... who's going to get the beds?"

"I'm getting one of them, obviously. Since, one... this is my ship, two: I'm steering while y'all are sticking your thumbs up yer asses, and finally... I'm cooler than any of you. Combined." He smiled. "...The girls can catfight over the other bed."

"... Cid, you're sleeping on the floor!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Get off of your high horse. You're too cocky for someone that's old."

"'High horse?'" Cid snarled. "Where'd you learn all this great jargon, Yuffie?"

"Cid! Act your age, PLEASE." Aerith said. "This trip was for us to sit back and relax. You guys are supposed to be friends ... act like it!"

By looking back at Yuffie, I could tell that Yuffie was about to say something. I could also tell that there was something on her mind. By the recent events, it seemed predictable that it would be something along the lines of 'I hate Cid!,' but uncharacteristically, she didn't seem to want to share her thoughts with anyone. Instead, she leaned back onto the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest. "This is my bed," she declared before stifling a yawn and falling asleep.

-

**AN**: I know, I know. This chapter sucked in comparison to the other ones. Major suckage there then, hmm? Yea... argh. I live in Florida, so Frances kicked our asses and I'm not in school now. (which, I guess, is a good thing, because I hate high school) Which is probably the only reason why I'm writing this. I'm hoping to finish the next chapter later tonight, proof read the shit I've written so far for Earthshine, and let all you eager readers chew it all up and spit it out. Heh...

So, Final Fantasy VII... I met Yuffie and I definitely had problems getting her into my party. I think I portrayed her okay-ish. She seems a lot smarter than I put her up to be. I still have yet to meet Cid... eh. Oh yea, if any of you have a 2nd disc of FFVII that they'd like to let me borrow/have/buy/trade, PLEASE do so. If money or trades are out of the question, I can, um, let you give me ideas for this fic or I'll write you a fic if you present me with a storyline? Haha... that was worth a try.


	4. untitled

THIS IS A FIRE DOOR NEVER LEAVE OPEN 

**chapter III:**

**-**

"Wake yer asses up." Cid's 'inside' voice was magnified to a deafening level. I sat up from the ground and looked over to Cid. He was smiling madly and had a megaphone in his hand. I put my hand under the back of my shirt and traced the outline of my spine. Sleeping on the floor made my back sore, despite the cushion underneath me.

"Man, these girls really piss me off. They know they can't fall back to sleep!" he said to me. A click of static followed before a roaring "WHY BOTHER? GET UP."

From a bundle of sheets, Yuffie raised her hand and gave Cid an odd gesture with the palm of her hands. It also appeared that she said something as well, but the sheets she was under muffled any noise that came from her.

Cid laughed heartily and then started drumming his fingers over the megaphone's microphone, creating blunt beats that reverberated through the ship, which undoubtedly distracted Yuffie. "You know," he said loudly over the noise. He was smiling broadly at me. "You looked awfully cute while you were sleeping."

"..."

Cid smiled. "It's true! So modest, aren't cha? Haha! Well... ain't I right Yuffie?"

"Mmmmph," Yuffie's head surfaced through the layer of blankets. "I'm tired," she yawned, taking no acknowledgment of Cid's question.

"As am I," another voice said groggily. Aerith's head poked out from between the two beds. "This is a vacation, isn't it? Pllleeease stop pacing us like this..."

Cid grimaced and put the megaphone down next to his seat. "Well fine." He folded his arms around his chest. "You know, I got business to take care of in Atlantis anyway. I'll leave y'all in the ship, alright? Heh... now I gotta try this mermaid suit thingy on." Cid was looking toward the ground of the control deck, at a space that was blocked out by a stack of boxes.

"Mermaid suit??" Yuffie darted out of her bed, in a pair of underwear and a small wifebeater. She ran up the stairs towards the control deck, and gave a small 'ooh' as she looked to the ground. "Ha!" she pointed at Cid and guffawed brightly. "I can't wait to see you try that on!"

Cid stared venomously at Yuffie. The toothpick in his mouth stuck up as he frowned. "Yea? Well, no peeking. I gotta wear it. Spent tons and tons of money on it," he sighed, and paced towards a rather tall table that, from my angle, hid Cid's stomach down. Before doing anything else, he turned to Yuffie again. "Go! You aren't supposed to be up here anyway."

With a groan, Yuffie leapt back to the living deck, and dived back into her bed. "Tell me when you try it on. I'd love to see you walk in that thing," she said scornfully.

"Shut it," Cid grunted. His head was no longer visible; he had collapsed onto the ground in vain attempts to get the suit on. "Ah, FUCK IT! Someone help me!" he plead pathetically.

I turned to look at Yuffie, who was lying stomach-down on her bed as she watched the front of the control deck table, expecting Cid to surface into sight again. She caught my eye and hunched her right shoulder quickly in response. We both then directed our attention back to Cid, who was quickly muttering profanity under his breath. "FUCK DAMN IT, I SAID HELP."

"Oh, fine. I'll help you," Aerith said as she stifled a yawn. She walked past Yuffie's bed and up the stairs to the control deck. As she set her eyes on Cid, she shook her head and slowly walked towards him. "... Cid..." she said in a tone not unlike that of an admonishing mother. "...Here... let me help you..." Aerith's head disappeared behind the table, and a few seconds later, there was a strange moaning sound recognized as belonging to Cid. Yuffie started doubling up into uncontrollable giggles.

"There, there Cid... just stay still for just a bit longer... almost there... just an inch or—Yuffie! Be quiet. Please! ... Okay, you're all set Cid! Get up!" Aerith's head reappeared from behind the table as she looked down on Cid. "Um, you can get up now."

"I can't!" Cid barked. "Yuffie was right. ...Damn her."

"... I... can't... breathe...!" Yuffie said between giggles. "Oh my god -- so funny!"

"Shut yer trap!" Cid roared as Aerith helped him up. As soon as he could reach, Cid propped himself up with the table surface and gave Yuffie a mean stare. Yuffie didn't (or maybe she couldn't) stop her high pitched laughing. After an incredibly weird moment or two, Yuffie managed to exhale and control her laughter.

"Cid, walk down to us!" she demanded in an eager voice.

"I already said I couldn't! Stupid."

With my curiosity getting the best of me and catching me off guard, I found myself walking up to the control deck, dying to know exactly what Cid was wearing. Yuffie, feeling that she would be safe to follow my judgment, followed close behind.

"Get-goddamn-DOWN!" he roared obliviously. "AERITH!!!!" Just before I was able to get a good full view of Cid's lower body, he hugged onto Aerith's legs and flinched. "NO!!" he screamed.

I stared. Cid was completely naked, except God was gracious enough to spare my eyes by having the suit (which resembled a sea horse's body) welded onto his body and covering his more intimate parts, and everything under as well. The suit was a curious shade of violet.

Yuffie started laughing again.

Cid sheepishly looked up. "Business is business. Shut it or I'm not going to support your big asses throughout this trip," he said coldly, and used Aerith as support to get up. "Now, you morons better help me out of this ship."

Aerith and I were the only ones that were listening to Cid talk – Yuffie was still laughing at the matter. Cid frowned.

"Well... I guess I'll drag myself to the gawddamn door," he grumbled, and then slowly crawled towards the staircase. After painfully making it down the staircase, he paused. "Oh yeah. If you guys want to come down to Atlanta, you can get those forsaken suits out of the larger glove apartment in the control deck. Might as well give you blowhards access to it, since you're already fucking creeping around it-" he sighed. "-If you guys go and you aren't back by the time I'm back, I'm leaving you useless fucks here... You guys sure goddamn deserve it."

With all of that said, Cid used the sides of his arms to crawl toward the exit. With much effort, he opened the exit, which revealed a horizon that sea water reached out of in a rich shade of royal blue. The waves smoothly rippled over its body as if a small boat was grazing at the water as it rowed through a small river. Although the ocean appeared peaceful, you couldn't imagine anything living submerged in it. I gulped. An old phobia of mine began to take rise as I thought of drowning.

Cid then plopped into the water. I steadily walked towards the exit, and cautiously looked out to the ocean to see how far the drop was. It was only about seven feet. I couldn't see a shadow or a reflection of Cid's through the water. I gulped to myself and shook my head. Just a fright... just a fright.

"Leon? What are you doing?"

I turned at Aerith's voice. "Oh... um, nothing..." I slammed the door of the exit and quickly tiptoed toward Aerith. "What is it?"

Aerith gave me a perceptive look before saying anything. "Well, since Atlantis is such a nice place and this is a vacation, why don't we get our suits on and take a dip into Atlantis."

I frowned at her, not having anything left in me to mask my feelings. "No," I said. Even I could feel the fear in my voice. "... I'll just stay here..."

"PARTY POOOOOPER," Yuffie teased. "What, are you afraid of the water?" She said mockingly.

I could have easily dismissed her accusation, but when it was really a true fear of mine, I just couldn't find myself to lie. Instead, I tried intimidating Yuffie by staring at her. After staring back for a short period of time, Yuffie looked away and started giggling to herself. I continued looking at her, only with a look of helplessness in my eyes.

I don't know how I reached this - or any sort of conclusion by having one of my many moronic encounters with Yuffie - but I reached an epiphany right there. Hell, actually, I reach epiphany after epiphany by the dozens whenever I'm forced into close proximity with such a magical Yuffie. Lucky. But this one stood out, and it told me that, yes, no one did understand me, nor cared to. I sighed.

"C'mon Aerith, let's go take a swim!" the two, completely ignoring me, walked up the stairs toward the glove compartment and, from stripping down to bare-naked skin, helped dress each other up. I looked away, and took a seat onto the floor. The girls were giggling and talking to themselves while they put on their suits, but I couldn't bring myself to pay any attention to them, or any of their conversation. A couple of minutes passed by slowly, and the only thing I noticed of their actions was a frightening splash of water from outside of the ship, as the two jumped into the ocean. To meet the same fate as Cid...? I shuddered.

-

**ending notes: **this chapter sucks. I'm going to rewrite it, but I honestly thought that I should have updated this story already. It's been a month since I wrote the last chapter. Blah.

Oh yea, more on FFVII: I think Cloud and Yuffie make the greatest couple possible in that stupid game. Yea, not even Cloud and Sephiroth beats out them. Yes, you heard right. Heh.


End file.
